Chapter 1: Arriving at Sinnoh
The sound of wingulls; loud and annoying. I think that we have arrived. Some people say that it is by losing yourself that you can restart anew. I guess this is what I am doing now: creating a new chapter in my life. I have long time heard about the Sinnoh region. Pokemon that I have never seen before, powerful trainers awaiting to be challenged, myths to be discovered, it is with these thoughts in mind that I walked out of the SS Dreamer, a ship straight from the Hoenn region.
I bring my hand to my forehead, hiding my eyes from the piercing rays of the sun. Canalave city; what a culturally prosperous city. Strolling past the numerous ferries and structures, I cannot contain my excitement. Sceptile next to me seems as amazed as I was. Oh right, I did not introduce myself yet. My name is Lu, an eighteen years old girl from Littleroot Town in the Hoenn region. Sceptile is my partner, the only friend that I have brought with me. I do not really know precisely what I am going to do in this new territory. For now, I will just explore the area.
After stopping by the Pokemon Center, I crossed the small drawbridge leading to the other half of the town. Making my way down the streets, I felt a little self-conscious as many passersby turned around to look in my direction. Technically, they were not looking at me, but at my pokemon. I guess Sceptiles are not a familiar presence in Sinnoh. During my aimless wandering, I encountered many interesting sights. Harbor Inn was one of the most intriguing with its rather gloomy physicality. When I tried to open its doors, they were locked. I also found out that the city had a gym. According to the people whom I have talked to, it was a steel-type gym led by a man named Byron. Although I only had one pokemon, I was pretty confident in its ability. For my first day in this new continent, I decided to challenge the Canalave gym.
Sometimes, I would really like to slap myself for the decisions I make. A four-story structure with moving steel platforms: the joy of an individual with vertigo. Going against trainers, trying to figure out the right lifts to take, my fear of heights did nothing but contribute to the list of factors obstructing my way to Byron. On top of that, I did not consider the fact that jet lag existed. Nevertheless, Sceptile fought its way through energetically, unflinching at the number of opponents it had to face. We had a certain advantage in this gym, as most of the pokemons that were used were Onyx. Struggling to the top, I finally got to challenge the gym leader. His three pokemons, compared to the ace trainers and workers that I battled, were of a complete different level. Although Bronzor was his weakest one, it was a real pain. With its hypnosis and its resistance to Sceptile's grass type moves, taking this pokemon down while it drowned itself in potions was frustrating. Steelix was not a big challenge, because it was partially a ground type. Similarly, Bastiodon, even if it was imposingly sturdy, was not hard to overcome with Sceptile's leaf blade and mega drain. In the end, we managed to overpower Byron's team, earning my first gym badge, the mine badge. With this victory, I spent my first night in Sinnoh in the companionship of Canalave's dancing nightlights and their fleeting reflections on the water.
Notes in Lu's journal:
Copied from Canalave library's books
Sinnoh's Myth:
Three Pokémon there were.
Into the lakes they dove.
Deep, deep, drawing no breath.
Deeper, deeper they dove.
Into suffocating depths they dove.
Deeper, then deepest they alight.
From the lake floor they rise.
Bearing with them the power to make
vast lands, they rise again.